NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
January 28, 2011
NATIONAL FLAG MOVEMENT TAKES ITS MESSAGE TO THE HALLS OF CONGRESS
Honor and Remember Founder Will Visit Every Member of
Congress to Rally Support for Establishing a New National Symbol
WASHINGTON, DC – After traveling over 25,000 miles through 50 states, one would think it would be time to rest. For George Lutz, this is not at all the case. Following a five-month, cross-country campaign to promote the Honor and Remember Flag as a new national symbol, Lutz, is on his way to Capitol Hill. As the father of a beloved fallen soldier and the flag’s creator, Lutz plans to meet with every member of the United States House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate to enlist each legislator’s support for a bill that will make the flag, which honors individuals who died in military service to America, an official emblem of the United States.
“After traveling to every state in our nation and meeting with governors and other elected officials, representatives from a broad spectrum of military veteran’s organizations, active duty service members and hundreds of Gold Star families, I am amazed at the enthusiastic support the Honor and Remember Flag has received,” said Lutz. “In the coming weeks, I plan to stay in the nation’s capital and ask every Washington politician I meet to pledge his or her support for The Honor and Remember Flag Recognition Bill, which calls for the Honor and Remember Flag to be adopted as a national symbol.”
Honor and Remember, Inc. was founded on Memorial Day 2008 to promote the flag and deliver personalized versions of it to families who have lost a loved one in military service, regardless of generation. Each personalized flag is emblazoned with the family member’s name, date of death and place of death. Lutz has presented flags to families of service members from World War II to Afghanistan.
“America needs a tangible symbol that specifically honors the sacrifice of men and women in the United States Armed Forces who have given their lives for their country,” said Lutz. “The Honor and Remember Flag was created to fly at federal, state and municipal buildings, schools, businesses and homes as a continuous reminder of the price our nation has paid over two centuries for the freedoms we cherish as Americans.”
While in Washington DC, Lutz will ask each legislator he meets to sign a pledge that reads:
In the more than 200 years of our nation’s history there has never been an officially recognized symbol that reminds us daily of the ultimate sacrifice made by members of our military who lost their lives in service to America and that affords us a means to express our gratitude to the families who endure that sacrifice. The Honor and Remember Flag is intended to serve as a national emblem for that purpose. The flag recognizes all military individuals from all wars or conflicts involving the United States who died while serving, or as a result of serving, since our nation’s inception.
It is my desire to see the Honor and Remember Flag adopted as a nationally recognized symbol of remembrance. And I promise to support the federal legislation that will make the Honor and Remember Flag an official emblem of the United States of America “Perpetually Recognizing the Sacrifice of Our Military Fallen Heroes and Their Families”
On December 29, 2005, George Anthony Lutz II (Tony) was killed by a sniper’s bullet while he was on patrol in Fallujah, Iraq. His family and friends endured the shock, emotional agony and overwhelming loss that accompanied the news of Tony’s death, just like the many families who have suffered the same tragedy. In the months that followed Tony’s funeral, his father, George, visited other families who had lost loved ones in the Iraq war. He began to sense that he had joined the ranks of a unique fellowship. These families were only the latest additions to a group that originated with the American Revolution, when the first soldiers to shed their blood for our freedom gave their lives.
George found another commonality among the families of fallen soldiers. After their grief had transitioned to numbness and finally to acceptance, many families wanted to know two things: that their sacrifice was not in vain and that the nation would never forget. These concerns led George on a quest to discover if there was a universally recognized symbol that specifically acknowledges the American service men and women who never made it home. To his surprise, he found nothing. Thus the Honor and Remember Flag was conceived. Honor and Remember, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
The Honor and Remember Flag has been endorsed by the American Gold Star Mothers, Inc., The Gold Star Wives of America, the Blue Star Mothers of America, the Vietnam Veterans of America, the Fleet Reserve Association, the Military Officers Association of America, the Associations of the US Army, Navy and Air Force, the Air Force Security Forces Association and the Naval Reserve Association among many other organizations. The flag has already been adopted as an official state symbol by Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina and Oklahoma; legislation is also pending in many others. More information can be found at www.HonorandRemember.org